Exchanging Glances
by Soulless3
Summary: Kagome tells Inuyasha she is going back home for a test. Kagome leaves and goes on a foriegn exchange trip to China. Inuyasha comes to get her and finds out. Enough said? (inu kag)
1. Going Away

Exchanging Glances

It was sunset in the feudal era of Japan, and Kagome was packing her things into her giant backpack. Inuyasha knew she was going home again, but he figured that she was probably just going back to the future to take another one of those 'tests' and stock up on Ramen(). Kagome hadn't told Inuyasha why she was going home, because she knew he'd flip out if she told him she wouldn't be back for probably a couple months, due to a foreign exchange program that was taking her to Shanghais, China. She had been looking forward to this for a long time now, and she didn't want Inuyasha to stop her.

She finished packing and picked up her bag, heading to the ancient well. She heard a 'thud' behind her and knew that her canine friend had jumped down from his perch in the god tree and was following her to the well. She sighed and turned around.

"Do we have to go through this every time, Inuyasha?" she gave him her most innocent look and added some sad-looking eyes. "I'm gonna come back, I promise, I always do."

"Feh. What ties do you have here that'll keep you coming back if you decide you like it better there," Inuyasha scoffed at her.

She walked back to him. "I have my friends, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo-chan. And I have you." She reached up and kissed him on the cheek, leaving him too stunned to move. " I'll be back before you know it," and with that, she hopped into the well, leaving Inuyasha standing there with his hand on his cheek, looking like a deer in headlights.

Kagome felt a little guilty as she shampooed her hair. She had said that she would be back before he knew it, but she highly doubted that. She imagined how he would react in a couple days time when she didn't come back, if he even waited that long. She was mildly surprised that Inuyasha hadn't already come bursting through her bathroom window, demanding that she come back at once, there were shards to be found. The only reason she could think of was that she had left him stunned by her kiss. Kagome blushed, and she felt guilty about that too.

Inuyasha was lying on one of the roots sticking out of the ground from the god tree, his back against the trunk. He looked down at his sleeping comrades, Sango lying as far away from Miroku as was possible and still be able to feel the heat of the fire. Shippo was curled up next to her. Apparently earlier, while Sango had been at a nearby hot spring, Miroku had decided to go for 'a scenic walk.' His cheeks were now still red where Sango had repeatedly slapped him silly, and Sango wasn't weak.

He thought back to what had happened earlier between him and Kagome. He sub-consciously rubbed his cheek where she had kissed him. The only reason he wasn't in the future right now was that he had decided, after much torment, that he should give Kagome her space. After all, it must be hard for her to live in two worlds, he thought miserably, remembering how much of a jerk he had been to her on previous occasions. He fell into a fitful sleep, and dreamt of Kagome running off with that Kouga mutt, saying that he treated her with respect and showed her that he really cared about her. He yelled after her, saying that he cared about her too, and begging her to come back.

Kagome was humming the next morning as she stood in front of the mirror, holding up different outfits to see which one looked the best. She would be getting on a plane that day at noon, and she needed a comfortable traveling outfit. She sighed and looked at her bed, where her school uniform lay. That was comfortable enough. After all, she fought demons in it. But she needed an outfit that would give a good impression to her new family. She said a few sentences in Chinese, practicing what she had learned. She decided on a silky kimono-like top and a pair of denim jeans. Then she looked around her room one last time, picked up her suitcase, and headed downstairs to breakfast.

Inuyasha looked down at his fish while he was eating, not really taking it in. He was being moody and quiet and the others were careful what they said around him. Shippo scooted up to him.

"What's wrong Inuyasha?" he asked.

"Bug off."

"Where's Kagome?"

"At home. Now go away."

Sango came over and stood over him. She was glaring. "Just because you're having your little pity party because Kagome's not here, doesn't mean you have to bring the rest of us down with you! If it means so much to you, go to the future and find her!" she raged, making him glance up and quiver under her fierce gaze. He stood up, and walked towards the well. He stopped at the edge of it, and looked down into it. Then, making up his mind, he jumped into the well.

Kagome stepped off the plane in the china international airport and scanned the crowd. In the middle, there was a family holding a sign that said 'Figurate'. She waved and smiled and walked over to them. There was a girl that appeared to be about her age, and there was a boy that looked like the girl's twin. Their parents were standing behind them with welcoming smiles. The twins introduced themselves as Ming and Minh. The parents said that Kagome could just call them Mr. and Mrs. Yang, because their names were hard to pronounce. Kagome introduced herself, a little nagging feeling at the corners of her mind. Her acute 'priestess senses' were definitely picking up something strange about this family...

Inuyasha sniffed the air before leaving the shrine around the well. Kagome's scent was on the air, but it was faint, as though she hadn't been there for a while. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move in the shadows created by the eaves on the house. He stood stock-still, both ears swiveled in the direction of the movement. Then he saw more movement. This shadow looked as though it was trying to sneak up on the other shadow. All of a sudden, a fat cat jumped out of the shadows, startling Inuyasha half to death. A little boy Inuyasha recognized as Sota came tearing out behind it. Sota noticed Inuyasha for the first time and gave a little gasp of surprise, then his face broke into a wide grin.

"Inuyasha! You're back!" Suddenly his face fell. "You're probably looking for my sis, right?"

"Er, yeah. Do you know where she is?" Inuyasha looked down at the cat, which was currently sunning itself lazily while playing with a leaf.

Sota gaped at him. "She didn't tell you?"

Inuyasha's eyes snapped back to Sota's face. "Didn't tell me what?"

"She went to China for a couple of months because of a school program. She left this morning."

Kagome and Ming had hit it off really easily, and they were quickly becoming friends. Ming was very fluent in Japanese, so Kagome didn't have to strain too hard to make simple conversation. Ming was very pretty, with almond-shaped eyes that were a deep brown, and soft auburn hair that went a little past her shoulders. Minh looked similar, except his hair was short.

They talked about school and home and friends, and they found a common ground in both owning cats, but the Yangs also owned a dog. Her name was Shijou, and she was a white chow-chow, which was really rare, according to Minh. All the while that Kagome was getting to know her new family, she couldn't get that little nagging feeling out of the back of her head. It was like an itch that just wouldn't leave, or a buzz, like a mosquito in her ear. She sat in the middle of the backseat, and kept catching Minh's eye. Each time she would hurriedly look back at Ming. Minh was very attractive, more so than Hojo or Inuyasha.

Inuyasha didn't know whether to be hurt or angry. On one hand, Kagome had run off without telling him. On the other hand, Kagome had still run off without telling him! Would the madness never end! He thought this all over as he hung onto the plane for dear life. As a demon, if he fell, he wouldn't die of course, but it would still probably hurt. The wind rushed through his hair and tugged at his clothes. 'Wouldn't it just be perfect if the wind took my pants right off?' he thought sarcastically.

On her way to China, a little girl was sitting by the window on a plane, coloring in a coloring book. She was sitting right next to the wing. She glanced out the window. "Puppy! Look Mommy, Look! It's a puppy! Look!" Her mother sighed and didn't even look up. "Yes dear. Its lovely" Why me? She thought. Meanwhile, the girl was delighted by the sight of the puppy on the wing. The 'puppy' turned and gave the girl the most vicious glare it had, and then went back to looking ahead. The girl screamed and slammed the window shut.

"Humans" Inuyasha thought exasperatedly. How did he wind up in this situation anyway? Oh yeah. Sota had told him that the fastest way to get to Kagome was on a thing called an airplane. He had told Inuyasha how to get to the airport, and then told him to get on a plane marked 'China Air.' Good kid, Inuyasha thought. So here he was, literally riding on a plane. On the wing, to be exact.


	2. A new family, part 1

Sleeping arrangements had been decided, and Kagome would be sleeping in Ming's room, obviously. Ming's room was decorated as a normal teens bedroom would be decorated, and even had a bunk bed. Kagome was on the top bunk, staring up at the ceiling. I wonder what Inuyasha is doing now? She thought. Her answer came almost instantaneously.

"Oh my God." Ming was watching the news below her.

"What is it?" Kagome asked. She sat up, forgetting that the ceiling was only feet above her, and hit her head.

"At the airport. There's been a major security breach." Ming flipped through the channels. "Every news station is on it!"

Kagome climbed down and sat next to Ming. "So what happened?" Ming hurriedly shushed her as the news channel played a clip that contained many disgruntled guards chasing after a very fast man dressed in red with long white hair. Kagome fainted.

* * *

Inuyasha had a pounding headache. Kagome's time was soooo….loud! His ears were flat against his head, and he was lying on top of someone's roof in a suburban area. He had picked up Kagome's scent right away, but he couldn't do anything before those stupid guards started chasing him. He gathered enough info to know that Kagome had headed west. In the dawn, he would head west until he picked up her trail, and then slap duct tape over her mouth before she could yell 'Sit!' Then he would proceed to drag her home. It sounded like the perfect plan to him. He wrinkled his nose at the stars. Kagome's time had such horrible smells too.

* * *

Kagome awoke a few moments later to Ming and Minh hovering over her face. Momentarily forgetting where she was, she screamed. Ming laughed as Minh jumped back. "I knew you were ugly Minh," she called, "But I never would have guessed that you were scary!" She laughed harder at her joke. Suddenly everything came back. She sat up and massaged her temples against a threatening headache. It can't be, she thought. Inuyasha? Here, in China! She moaned as the headache pushed itself through her defenses. 

"Hey Ming? Do you have any aspirin?"

"Oh yeah, of course. Go get her some aspirin, Minh!" Kagome couldn't help but smile at this. It reminded her of Sango and Miroku for some reason. Minh grumbled but came back with a couple of Advil and a glass of water. Kagome thanked him and took the pills.

"Kagome! What do you think of that guy at the airport? Quite the cutie, ay?" Ming nudged her arm in a girl sort of way and winked.

Kagome's thoughts were elsewhere. "Huh? Oh, Inuyasha?"

Ming gasped. "You know him? That's so cool! How old is he?"

Kagome laughed. "Too old for you. Besides, if you really knew him, you wouldn't be asking." He's such a jerk, Kagome thought. And yet…

"He's not that great," came Minh's voice as he left the room.

"What's his problem?" wondered Ming. Suddenly a smile crept across her face. "I bet he's jealous, Kagome. Hee hee hee…."

"Of you? " she asked, "I thought you were brother and sister though!"

Ming giggled. "No, silly! Of you!"


	3. A new family, part 2

((A/N: ok, so, I'm sorry for not updating sooner, but I was grounded from the computer. The power cord got taken away! So honestly, this is the soonest I could update. Hope u like!))

* * *

Sniff sniff. Sniff sniff. This seemed to be the place. But there was a funny aura surrounding it… Inuyasha stood outside a respectable-looking house with a nice little garden and wrap-around porch. He tried to slide the door open, like how he would have open a normal door, but 1) the door wasn't built to slide, and 2) even if it was, it was locked. But of course, Inuyasha being the stubborn mule he is, kept clawing at the door until it was finally torn to shreds. He pulled out Tetsusaiga and jumped into the room with a yell of "Show yourself, demon!"

* * *

Kagome and the twins were only a few rooms away in the kitchen, eating breakfast. Kagome's eyes widened, and she dropped her spoon to the table with a clatter. "Oh, no, Inuyasha…"

Minh looked at her funny. "Is something the matter?"

"Sounds like we have company," said Ming as she stood up. "Though I do resent being called a demon. How low." She walked out of the room to where Inuyasha was. Minh had a somewhat scared look on his face. Kagome didn't ask why. She figured it was because of the loud intrusion. But what he said next shocked her.

"Man, I feel sorry for whoever's in there. He shouldn't have called her a demon. She hates that." Minh stood up and went into the next room. Kagome followed. The blast of aura made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Ming didn't quite look like Ming; she was different somehow, but Kagome couldn't really place how.

"I'm no demon, you filthy hanyou scum!" Ming shouted.

"Iron reaver soul-"

"SIT!"

THUD.

* * *

"I'm really sorry about your door," Kagome began later.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Its fine," replied Minh.

"But, won't your parents mind?"

"Actually, we don't have any," replied Ming.

"But, just last night-?"

"Holograms." The twins said it in perfect unison. Kagome looked from one to the other, and then to Inuyasha tied in a chair. She was so confused.

"If you're not demons, then what the heck are you?" Inuyasha interjected rudely.

Long silence.

Finally Minh spoke up. "We're dragons."

* * *

((A/N: ok, I don't want anybody thinking 'american dragon jake long' stuff, because I've had this idea since before the show came out! So there!)) ((oh, hope you enjoyed! Please review review review! I wont write more without a little cough cough motivation…)) 


	4. Situation thus Far

((A/N: here! I wrote the next chapter! Are you happy now!))

* * *

Minh tapped his pencil on his desk. 'That wasn't very bright,' he thought. His little dragon comment had brought up a lot of questions, and he knew there were still more to come. Ming had warned him against telling Kagome before the time was right, but their plan had gotten seriously mixed up when Inuyasha ripped their front door to shreds. Minh sighed and tried to concentrate on his trigonometry packet in front of him. "If x is the adjacent and 34 is the hypotenuse, and my angle is 57….then…my equation would be Cos57 equals x/34…." He scribbled down his answer after some quick computations. ((A/N: u should get this easily, Gemini….)) The room was sweltering hot, even with the windows cracked open. He watched some birds fly by, much more quickly than the class. Geometry always seemed to drag on for months, especially right before lunch. The thing that intrigued him the most is the time that it took Kagome to recover from the shock. She was very smart, he thought. "and pretty, and nice, and clever…" Sigh. Why was this so complicated? He wished that he could be as brave as his sister. This mess didn't seem to bother her at all. In fact, she loved the whole thing, and thought it was the grandest adventure. He didn't want to admit that he was actually kinda scared. 'Maybe if the government wasn't involved, it wouldn't be so bad….'

* * *

Kagome was struggling in her computer applications class. How was she supposed to concentrate on trouble-shooting when there was a dragon sitting next to her! She thought of how awkward the walk to school had been. Inuyasha had kept shooting glares at her the whole way, since she had sat him into the foundation of the house when he tried to take her back home. Ming and Minh had walked slightly ahead of them, talking in terse whispers. There was obviously something more to the story then what they were telling her. Minh had said it was for her own safety, in case she was tortured or mind-swept for information. 'Tortured. Oh yes, that just gives me the warm fuzzies,' she thought to herself sarcastically. She had thought if it might have had something to do with the jewel, but she shot that idea down because she would have felt its presence. Wouldn't she? Ming was expertly rewiring the back of her computer next to her, her tongue sticking slightly out of the corner of her mouth. Kagome's CPU sparked suddenly under her lack of focus, and she yelped. Ming looked over to see smoke rising from the back of her new friend's CPU. She quickly took control of the situation and fixed Kagome's problem, but not before the teacher gave Kagome a nasty sort of glare.

* * *

Poor Inuyasha. All alone, sitting on the roof because nobody would let him come into class. Let's look at his current situation, shall we? 1) Kagome took advantage if his emotional constipation and kissed him. 2) Kagome flat-out lied to his face. 3) He changes the laws of nature and physics to get to her, and then 4) she sits him continually until he is sure that he is building up a slight immunity to the pain and that he can start a business as a grave-digger. 5) After he came to save her, she doesn't find it odd in the slightest that these twins are DRAGONS, and she totally takes their side! 6) He's up on the roof. All alone and left to contemplate his current situation. 7) It's raining. Hard. Poor Inuyasha? Yep. Poor little puppy.

* * *

((A/N: hope this gets you all a little up to date. Oh, and if you're wondering why I'm not going into to more detail on the dragon thing yet, it's because I'm still trying to think it all through. Review. I won't put up the next chapter until I get 25 reviews. I swear, 25, at least. I'll be counting. )) 


	5. Attack

((A/N: I would love to thank the 4, yes FOUR people who reviewed my story. You guys rock! Thank you so much! This chapter is just for you four! Oh, yeah, and sorry for taking so long. Now that school is out, I should be able to update more frequently!))

Inuyasha's nose twitched. That smell, he thought, what were demons doing here? His ears twitched to catch the tiniest of sounds. What was it…. he couldn't quite place it, until it hit him. No, literally. Right as he jumped up to investigate, he found himself on his back again. He looked up at the woman silhouetted against the gray sky. "Yura!" It was that lowlife hair woman, he thought. Great.

"Not quite, hon. I guess you could say I'm a…. relative of hers. Yura died long ago, you foolish puppy. This is the 21st century! Get real."

Inuyasha growled and jumped up into a fighting stance. He had a right to mistake her for Yura; the woman was the spitting image of her! "What does it matter who you are? I can still kick your $$!"

"Tut tut, little pup. It's no wonder you're no luck with the ladies, aka Kagome!" She giggled, a high-pitched annoying little giggle. It made the hairs on the back of Inuyasha's neck stand up.

"What do you want, wench?" he spat through his fangs. "Come to tickle me with hair, like your 'relative?'"

"Ha! Don't make me laugh." She suddenly got a very dangerous look. "I don't tickle, and hair is a little old-fashioned, wouldn't you say? I like modern technology. By the way, my name's Yari." Yari pulled out a small object that looked a lot like a comb to Inuyasha. He snorted to show his doubt in the little object. Yari flashed a dangerous grin. "I know all about you, Inuyasha. You're a very strong hanyou, which is why I'm here to get you out of the way. My executives feel that you're a threat to order."

"Yeah? And who might you're 'executives' be?" Whoever these brats thought they were, Inuyasha felt that they weren't a major threat in face of the Tetsusaiga.

"That's highly classified." Chains shot out of Yari's comb, faster than the eye could see. They quickly enveloped Inuyasha before he had a chance to move. He strained against the chains, but he suddenly felt little pinpricks all over his body. His vision was getting blurry, but he could make out that Yari was holding a little object in her other hand, which seemed to be controlling the chains. If he could just get the thing…in her hand…sharp pains exploded all over his body, coming through the pins in the chains. He fell to his knees, unable to stand. He felt control shutting down. Everything was getting dark. He saw Yari walk over. She knelt down so she could look him in the eyes. "With you out of the way, getting the priestess will be very easy. My executives will be pleased. I'll be sure to thank your dear brother for the poison. We were able to analyze it and make it stronger. Nighty night, hon." Yari watched Inuyasha collapse with a thud, completely unconscious. "Heh, foolish pup."

Yari pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number, talked for a few seconds, and then hung up. Using the chains, she lugged Inuyasha across the roof and lowered him into a waiting van. She drove a few blocks, and came to a helicopter. With the help of the pilot, he was loaded up into the helicopter and flown away.


	6. Chapter 6, sorta

((A/N: Dear Clouds of the Sky:

Since you are the only person that reviewed my last chapter, I must deduce that you are the only one still reading it. Thank you very much. I have been super busy lately and have not been able to get to my computer, so I don't quite have a new chapter yet. But since you asked so nicely for longer chapters, here's what I'll do: I am going to write a lot using pencil and paper, and possibly get close to finishing it. That way, when I go to type it up, the chapters will be a lot longer and my fanfiction will probably move along faster. Thank you again for your support. Here is a mini-chapter to hopefull tide you over a little until I get more written. Thanks again!

Milana))

* * *

"Inuyasha? Inuyasha! Where are you?" Kagome was becoming frantic. This was so unlike him! Inuyasha was nowhere to be found, and Ming was becoming impatient.

"He's probably just off skulking somewhere like a hurt little puppy. Can we go? I have loads of homework tonight." Ming tapped her foot, arms crossed.

Minh sighed. "Chill out, Ming."

"Chill out? Is that another of your lame fire dragon jokes? Well, why don't you just blown on home if you have a problem, Mr. Wind!"

Kagome had a very confused look on her face. Minh put his hands up in front of his face defensively. "Hey, don't get so hot, sis. It wasn't meant to be funny. It's a very common expression that people use all the time."

"Don't get hot? Don't get hot?"

"Um, how about we head home now," Kagome voiced cautiously. "Inuyasha's a big boy, I'm sure he can take care of himself…. what are you guys talking about anyway?" Minh laughed.

"Well, we're dragons, right? Well, I'm a dragon of wind, and Ming here is a dragon of fire. She gets a little touchy when she thinks that I'm cracking jokes about her element." Minh winked. "Imagine a fire dragon getting hot-headed over a little joke."

"That's what I'm talking about, Kagome!" Kagome couldn't help laughing.

The three set off towards the twin dragon's home, Inuyasha unintentionally slipping to the back of Kagome's mind.


End file.
